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THE  ETHEL  CARR  PEACOCK 
MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 


Matris  amori  monumentum 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 


DURHAM.  N.  C. 
1903 

Gift  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dred  Peacock 


MEMORIAL 


OF 


ev.  R..  H. 


(V 


GREENSBORO : 
Thomas  Brothers,  Book  and  Job  Printers. 
1891. 


Funeral  of  f^ev.  U-  H-  Wills. 


Services  were  held  at  the  late  residence  of  the  deceased,  on 
Saturday,  November  7th,  at  11  o'clock  a.  m.,  and  were  par- 
ticipated in  by  Rev.  S.  H.  Hilliard,  pastor  of  West  Market 
Street  M.  E.  Church,  South,  and  Rev's  J.  R.  Ball,  W.  F.  Ken- 
nett  and  J.  L.  Michaux,  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church. 

Rev.  J.  R.  Ball  read  the  90th  Psalm. 

The  music,  ''Abide  With  Me,"  was  s^veetly  and  touchingly 
rendered  by  select  voices  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  C.  H.  ' 
Ireland,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  C.  H.  Ireland  on  the  piano,  in. 
strict  and  beautiful  harmony. 

Rev.  S.  H.  Hilliard  offered  prayer  and  Rev.  J.  L.  Michaux. 
delivered  the  Memorial  Address,  which  was  followed  by  the 
second  hymn,  "I  would  not  live  alway."  I 

Then  the  remains,  in  charge  of  Messrs.  C.  H.  Ireland,  J.  S.  | 
Hunter,  R.  G.  Glenn,  Richard  H.  Brooks,  J.  A.  Odell  and 
Prof.  J.  Allen  Holt,  the  pall  bearers,  were  borne  to  Green  Hill 
Cemetery  for  interment,  where  the  concluding  services  were 
performed  by  Rev's  J.  R.  Ball  and  W.  F.  Kennett. 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 


Rev.  Richard  H.  Wills,  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Wills, 
D.  D.,  and  his  wife  Anna  Whitaker,  was  born  in  Tarboro,  N. 
C,  on  the  10th  day  of  October,  1836,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  at  3.15  p.  m.,  November  5th,  1891,  was  aged  55  years, 
3  weeks  and  4  days. 

The  field  of  pastoral  work  on  which  he  closed  up  the  record 
of  his  ministerial  labor  was  Haw  River  Circuit,  which  he 
,  was  serving  for  the  second  year.  He  left  home  for  the  last 
'  time  on  Saturday,  October  24th,  and  drove  to  Midway  Church, 
in  Rockingham  county,  a  distance  of  16  miles.  He  was  by 
no  means  well  when  he  left  home,  yet,  notwithstanding  this 
fact,  such  was  the  ardor  of  his  zeal  in  his  chosen  work  that 
he  preached  three  times  on  the  Sabbath  and  three  times  each 
on  the  two  following  days.  The  only  explanation  of  this 
seeming  imprudence  and  disregard  of  consequences  to  him- 
self is  found  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul  touching  his  own  labors: 
"Striving  according  to  His  working,  which  worketh  in  me 
mightily."  And  in  this  from  the  evangelical  Prophet:  "For 
Zion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's  sake 
I  will  not  rest  until  the  righteousness  thereof  go  forth  as 
brightness,  and  the  salvation  thereof  as  a  lamp  that  burneth.'' 

HE  RETURNS  HOME. 

Suspending  his  labors  at  Midway  on  Tuesday  night,  Wed- 
nesday morning  found  him  unable  to  leave  his  bed,  but  on 
Friday,  accompanied  by  friends,  he  rode  home  sitting  up  in 
his  own  buggy,  making  the  distance  by  2  o'clock,  p.  m.  Dis- 
\  ease  had  set  in,  with  strong  symptoms  of  pneumonia,  and 
J  Dr.  Charles  M.  Glenn  was  called,  who  at  once  apprehended 


4 


the  great  peril  the  patient  was  in.  The  symptoms  soon  de- 
veloped pneumonia,  and  the  patient  gradually  grew  worse. 
Dr.  Glenn  called  to  his  aid  Dr.  E.  R.  Michaux,  and  the  com- 
bined skill  and  united  efforts  of  the  two  were  earnestly  given, 
but  without  avail. 

PATIENT  SUBMISSION. 

Neither  on  his  arrival  at  home  nor  at  any  time  afterwards 
did  the  deceased  utter  a  word  that  could  be  construed  into  a 
murmur,  but  on  the  contrary,  his  heart  was  full  of  gratitude 
and  praise  to  God,  whom  he  had  so  faithfully  and  zealously 
served,  evidencing  a  submission  and  patience  in  suffering 
equal  to  the  faithfulness  with  which  he  had  performed  the 
active  duties  of  his  ministr}^,  ready  for  life  or  death,  as  the 
Master  might  choose. 

IN  THE  BOSOM  OF  HIS  FAMILY.  J 

His  wife  and  their  five  children — all  sons — together  with  th^ 
several  other  relatives  who  comprised  his  household,  were 
with  him  in  his  closing  hours. 

His  eldest  son,  Prof  Geo.  S.  Wills,  one  of  the  faculty  of  Oak 
Ridge  Institute,  and  his  fourth  son,  Richard,  a  student  at  the 
Institute,  came  down  on  a  visit  to  their  beloved  parent  upon 
being  advised  of  the  serious  nature  of  his  illness,  and  their 
coming  was  to  him  a  source  of  much  gratification.  William,  the 
second  son,  was  at  Wilson  teaching  school,  and  he  also  came- 
when  he  had  ascertained  that  his  father  was  critically  ill. 
While  yet  unaware  of  William's  arrival,  the  father,  getting  a 
glimpse  of  his  form  in  the  room,  inquired  who  it  was.  Being 
told  that  it  was  William,  he  saluted  the  son  affectionately,  ask- 
ing wherefore  he  had  come,  and  when  William  replied,  "I  came 
to  see  you  and  be  with  you,"  the  father  replied  with  his  accus- 
tomed tenderness,  "This  is  a  concentration  of  affection  that 
makes  me  feel  quite  lifted  up."  At  one  time  while  suffering 
intensely  he  said,  "My  sufferings  are  infinitely  less  than  those 
which  Jesus  bore  for  me." 


5 

THE  HOUR  OF  RELEASE. 

On  Thursday,  at  about  2:35,  p.  m.,  it  became  evident  that 
he  was  dying.  Dr.  Michaux,  who  happened  to  be  then  at  his 
home  near  by,  was  called  and  went  immediately  to  the  sick 
room,  but  respiration  itself  came  feebly  and  ceased  altogether 
at  3:15.  Gently,  quietly,  noiselessly,  peacefully  as  the  fading 
of  a  summer  cloud,  God's  devoted  servant  quitted  the  frail 
tenement  of  clay  to  be  clothed  upon  with  the  house  which  is 
from  heaven. 

It  pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  to  grant  to  our  Brother 
what  seemed  a  calm,  quiet,  painless  breathing  out  of  life,  as 
if  the  weary  eyelids  had  been  closed  under  the  touch  of  a 
gentle  hand  unseen.  There  was  no  struggle,  no  contortion, 
no  groan,  no  sigh;  no  beseeching  look  for  human  aid,  no 
glance  that  betokened  the  loneliness  of  the  passage  across  the 
shadowy  vale.  The  same  expression  of  quiet,  patient  satis- 
faction, which  he  wore  in  health,  and  which  continued  with 
him  in  his  last  sickness,  dwelt  upon  his  features  in  the  closing 
hour,  and  went  with  him  to  his  dreamless  resting  place. 

THE  COMPLETE  VICTORY. 

But  there  is  at  least  a  plausible  reason  which  may  be  as- 
signed for  the  calm  and  undisturbed  quiet  of  our  brother  from 
the  first  to  the  last  of  his  sickness,  and  the  absence  of  any 
mental  contlict  during  his  entire  illness.  The  reason  seems  to 
be  this:  Very  early  in  his  religious  course  he  had  submitted 
his  heart  fully  to  God,  had  surrendered  all  his  powers  to  His 
service,  and  had  gained  a  complete  victory  over  sin  and  the 
great  Tempter,  so  that  in  the  dying  hour  "the  Wicked  One 
touched  him  not."  In  this  he  was  a  partaker  with  his  Divine 
Master  who,  having  overcome  the  Tempter  in  the  wilderness, 
could  say  of  him  as  He  felt  the  chill  of  his  approach  on  the 
night  of  the  betrayal,  "The  prince  of  this  w^orld  cometh  and 
hath  nothing  in  me."  Thanks  be  unto  God  whogiveth  to  His 
servants  so  complete  and  glorious  a  victory  in  the  parting 
hour. 


6 


HIS  ENLISTMENT.  ] 

Rev.  R.  H.  Wills  enlisted  early  in  the  service  of  the  Master,  ■ 
being  converted  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  The  date  of  his  license  i 
to  preach  is  not  at  hand,  nor  yet  the  date  of  his  first  pulpit  ' 
effort,  but  his  first  sermon  was  preached  at  Bethesda  Church,  ■ 
near  his  father's  home,  in  Halifax  county — it  is  believed — in  | 
1855,  in  his  19th  year.  ^ 

From  this  time  on  until  the  autumn  of  1858  he  filled  the  : 
position  of  local  preacher,  aiding  zealously  and  effectively  in  I 
all  the  protracted  and  revival  meetings  within  his  reach.  ^ 

POSITIONS  FILLED.  -■ 

I 

He  joined  Conference  at  the  session  oi  1858,  was  assigned  \ 
to  Tar  River  Circuit,  and  at  Red  Oak  Church,  Nash  county,  j 
December  12,  1858,  preached  his  first  sermon  as  an  itinerant 
from  Luke  ix:  23.  He  w^as  returned  to  Tar  River  from  the  ' 
Conference  of  1859,  and  at  the  Conference  of  1860  was  or-  ] 
dained  deacon.  From  here  he  was  assigned  to  Albemarle  j. 
circuit,  continuing  thereon  the  second  year,  and  the  year  i 
1863  he  spent  in  rest  at  home.  The  years  '64  and  '65  he  rode  > 
Haw  River  circuit.  i 

On  January  20th,  1864,  he  was  married  in  Bethesda  church  ^ 
to  Ann  Louisa  Norman,  daughter  of  the  late  Joseph  S.  Norman,  ■] 
of  Washington  county,  Rev.  W.  H.  Wills  performing  the  ^ 
ceremony.    The  year  '66  he  travelled  Roanoke  circuit ;  '67, 
'68,  '69,  '70,  Albemarle  circuit;  '71,  '72,  Halifax.    In  the: 
years  '73,  '74  and  '75  he  was  President  of  the  Conference. 
The  years  '76  and  '77  he  spent  on  Davidson  circuit;  '78  and 
'79  Winston  station  ;  '80  Tar  River ;  '81  and  '82  Greensboro 
circuit.    During  '83  he  acted  as  stationed  Executive  of  the  , 
District  and  pastor  of  Winston  mission ;  '84  and  '85  as  trav-  j 
elling  President ;  '86  on  Mocksville  circuit ;  '87  and  '88  Greens- ' 
boro;  '89,  President,  and  '90  and  '91,  Haw  River  circuit,  his 
last  work.    Thus  it  is  seen  that  he  spent  32  years  in  active 
work.    He  w^as  also  a  member  of  the  General  Conference  of 


1866,  of  the  General  Convention  of  1877,  and  of  the  General 
Conferences  of  '84  and  '88,  besides  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
Joint  Commission  of  the  Methodist  and  Methodist  Protestant 
bodies  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in  1876. 

.     THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Up  to  this  point  in  this  memorial  the  writer  has  lound  no 
difficulty,  but  to  describe  the  man  and  his  work — who  can  do 
that?  No  one,  except  in  a  very  imperfect  manner;  yet  an 
attempt  is  made  to  present  some  of  the  more  prominent  traits 
of  his  character,  the  first  of  which  is  his  love  and  obedience 
to  his  parents,  which,  if  space  permitted,  might  be  strikingly 
illustrated.  Our  deceased  brother  maintained  to  the  last  the 
most  pronounced  aflfeciion  for  his  parents,  and  a  short  while 
before  his  death  announced  his  intention  of  visiting,  in  Jan- 
uary next,  the  old  homestead  to  see  his  aged  and  widowed 
mother,  remarking  that  his  purpose  was  to  visit  her  every 
year.  To-his  honored  lather,  while  the  latter  lived,  the  de- 
ceased gave  the  utmost  deference  founded  in  filial  love  and 
respect;  and  it  is  questionable  whether  any  great  character 
can  be  formed  without  this  element,  which  the  apostle  em- 
phasises as  'the  first  commandment  with  promise." 

But  this  obedience  and  love  to  his  parents  found  its  coun- 
terpart, if  not  one  of  its  sequences,  in  the  tender  afiection,  the 
mutual  love  and  respect  which  adorned  and  beautified  his 
own  home. 

HIS  LOVE  FOR  SOULS. 

Next  after  this  was  his  great  love  for  souls.  He  loved  his 
fellow  men  because  Christ  died  to  redeem  them. 

He  went  about  from  place  to  place  striving  to  win  souls  to 
Christ,  and  willingly  sacrificed  himself  for  the  love  which  he 
bore  to  them.  He  yearned  over  men,  and  preached  and 
prayed  and  wept  in  his  great  zeal  to  rescue  them  from  the  do- 
minion of  darkness.    But  he  manifested  a  special  love  for 


8 


those  who  were  of  the  household  of  faith,  for  his  brethren  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  for  all  the  disciples  of  the  Master. 

HIS  UNSELFISHNESS. 

The  great  mainspring  of  this  love  for  men  is  to  be  found 
in  his  greater  love  to  Christ,  whom  he  loved  with  an  ardor 
most  intense,  and  as  a  result  of  which  he  became  as  unselfish 
as  it  would  be  possible  for  a  mortal  to  become.  I  speak  consci- 
entiously and  deliberately  when  I  say  that  Richard  H.  Wills 
was  the  most  unselfish  person  I  ever  met;  and  in  this  respect 
I  have  no  hope  of  meeting  his  equal.    I  reach  the  conclusioi;i 
of  the  unselfishness  of  our  beloved  Brother  from  having  ob- 
served him  closely  for  over  thirty  years,  and  repeatedly  in 
connection  with  matters  where,  if  selfishness  had  existed,  it 
could  not  but  have  been  discovered.    I  make  special  note  of 
unselfishness  for  two  reasons,  one  of  vvhich  is  that  it  is  so  rare- 
ly found  with  any  near  approach  to  perfection,  even  among 
christian  men,  and  the  other  is  that  it  is  preeminently  Christ- 
like. 

And  possibly  there  is  no  one  trait  of  character  among  men 
which  presents  so  serious  an  obstruction  to  the  progress  of 
Oospel  truth  as  absolute  selfishness.  Our  deceased  brother 
not  only  avoided  this  great  evil,  but  clothed  himself  with  its 
opposite,  and  exhibited  it  in  all  his  dealings  among  men. 

A  LARGE  hearted  ACT. 

An  exceedingly  generous  act  on  the  part  of  our  Brother,  an 
act  which  does  not  often  find  a  parallel  in  a  world  all  too 
prone  to  be  selfish,  claims  a  place  in  this  brief  tribute  to  this 
eminently  Christlike  servant  of  Jesus. 

His  immediate  predecessor  on  one  of  the  circuits,  had,  for 
some  reason,  failed  to  receive,  by  a  considerable  sum,  the 
amount  of  the  salary  promised  him,  and  for  the  lack  of  it  was 
financially  embarrassed.  When  the  facts  became  known  to 
Bro.  Wills  he  at  once  set  about  to  have  the  wrong  done  to  his 


9 


brother  righted,  and  at  a  comparatively  early  day,  through 
his  disinterested  interference,  had  collected  and  paid  over  the 
principal  part  of  the  sum  due,  if  not  all  of  it,  although  he  had 
reason  to  believe  that  it  might  entail  upon  himself  a  consider- 
able loss  on  his  own  salary,  which  was  small  at  best.  This  is 
only  another  instance  in  which  our  beloved  brother  showed 
how  little  the  common  infirmity  of  self  seeking  had  place  in 
his  hieart,  and  how  he  could  lose  sight  of  himself  in  the  en- 
deavor to  advance  the  interest  of  another.  And  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  prominent  traits  of  his  character,  he  was  but 
acting  in  harmony  with  his  divine  Master  whose  image  shone 
so  conspicuously  and  so  steadily  in  his  life. 

A  CONSPICUOUS  TRAIT. 

But  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  traits  in  the  character  of 
our  Brother,  in  relation  to  affairs  purely  practical,  was  his 
faithfulness  in  discharging,  at  the  proper  time  and  in  the  best 
manner  possible,  all  and  every  one  of  the  various  obligations 
which,  by  disciplinary  requirement  or  conference  resolution 
had  been  devolved  upon  him.  The  simple  flict  that  it  bore 
the  impress  of  competent  authority  secured  his  obedience  at 
once,  and  his  loyal  heart  had  no  further  question,  and  for  this 
reason  our  Brother  was  found  faithful  to  every  interest  of  the 
church,  whether  local  or  general,  and  he  sought  with  the  ut- 
most^ithfulness  the  highest  success  of  all.  And  who  of 
those  who  survive  him  can  ever  forget  what  he  was  in  these 
things?  Or  who,  again,  will  not  duly  magnify  the  faithful- 
ness which  so  strikingly  distinguished  himf* 

PRAYERS  AND  INTBRCESSIONS. 

As  a  man  of  prayer  we  could  not  exaggerate  the  constancy 
and  persevering  earnestness  with  which  he  everywhere  had 
recourse  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  by  reason  of  which  he  was 
always  in  the  Spirit,  always  ready  to  every  good  word  and 
work.    He  prayed  without  ceasing.    Much  of  his  praying 


10 


was  of  the  intercessory  kind  in  behalf  of  his  fellow  men,  and 
one  of  the  first  thoughts  that  struck  me  when  his  great  heart 
of  love  ceased  to  beat,  was  that  now  one  of  our  most  constant 
intercessors  has  been  removed,  and  I  was  forcibly  reminded 
of  the  words  which  God  spoke  to  Joshua  when  Moses,  the 
intercessor  for  Israel,  died  :  "Moses,  my  servant,  is  dead;"  and 
I  trembled  to  think  of  the  removal  of  one  who  was  for  us  all 
the  most  faithful  of  human  intercessors. 

INTERCEDES  FOR  HIS  BRETHREN. 

It  is  related  of  him  that  during  the  years  in  which  he 
served  as  the  executive  of  the  Conference  he  set  apart  a  cer- 
tain hour  each  day  when  he  withdrew  to  some  secluded  spot, 
and  there  presented  in  earnest  intercessory  prayer,  and  indi- 
vidually, the  name  of  every  ministerial  brother  filling  the 
various  fields  of  labor,  invoking  upon  them  and  upon  their 
charges  the  grace  that  would  fit  them  for  success. 

Surely,  in  our  great  sense  of  loss  in  the  removal  of  our  be- 
loved brother  we  should  take  into  the  account  what  he  was 
to  the  church  by  reason  of  his  constant,  earnest  and  persistent 
intercessions'  before  the  throne  of  God.  But  none  of  us  can 
know  how  much  we  are  indebted  to  those  intercessions  for 
grace  and  mercy  from  heaven  until  the  affairs  of  time  shall 
be  wound  up. 

THOROUGHLY  CONSECRATED.  ^ 

His  devotion  to  duty  was  complete  and  never  failing.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  conscientious  of  men  in  all  the  afi^airs  of 
life,  taking  the  word  of  God  as  the  rule  of  his  conduct,  and 
making  the  word  his  daily  study,  and  imploring  the  hght  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  aid  in  the  understanding  of  its  mysteries. 

One  of  the  characteristics  which  distinctly  marked  him 
was  his  deep  and  unaffected  humility,  which  arose,  no  doubt, 
from  his  clear  views  of  the  Divine  Majesty  and  of  man's  im- 
measurable inferiority. 

Richard  H.  Wills  was  a  thoroughly  consecrated  man,  and 


11 


in  the  highest  sense  of  that  term,  and  this  consecration  was 
manifested  upon  his  first  appearance  as  a  preacher,  involving 
his  heart,  his  head,  his  hands  ;  his  soul,  body  and  spirit;  all 
he  was,  all  he  had,  without  exception  and  without  reservation, 
for  time  and  for  eternity. 

The  thorough  consecration  of  our  beloved  brother  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord  prepares  us  to  expect  that  he  would  not 
fall  behind  in  the  grace  of  giving  of  his  earthly  substance  to 
the  support  of  the  gospel  ;  nor  did  he  fail  in  this,  but  was  a 
pattern  of  liberality.  At  an  early  period  in  his  ministerial 
course  it  appeared  to  him  as  a  duty  that  he  should  devote  the 
tenth  of  his  entire  income  to  benevolent  purposes,  and  this 
he  observed  as  one  of  the  fixed  rules  of  life,  although  it  is 
believed  that  he  went  beyond  this  in  his  contributions  to  the 
various  needs  of  the  church.  He  first  gave  himself  and  then 
he  gave  all  he  had,  to  God. 

As  one  of  the  consequences  of  this  thorough  consecration 
he  carried  with  him  the  savour  of  Christ  wherever  he  went — 
a  meek,  loving,  earnest,  tireless  toiler  for  the  salvation  of  men. 

HIS  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

Probably  no  one  could  exceed  him  in  that  high  and  essen- 
tial quality  of  conscientiousness,  which  marked  his  actions 
in  every  relation  of  life,  extending  to  great  and  small  things 
alike,  and  which  no  considerations  of  self  interest  could  per- 
vert or  extinguish.  As  an  illustration  of  this  point  one  inci- 
dent is  introduced.  It  is  related  by  one  of  the  assessors  for 
the  city  of  Greensboro.  "Rev.  Mr.  Wills,"  said  the  assessor, 
"was  an  exception  among  the  large  number  of  persons  who 
came  to  give  in  their  taxables.  He  was  just  and  exact  in 
every  particular,  but  when  it  came  to  the  matter  of  notes,  he 
did  not  merely  report  the  face  amount  of  the  notes,  as  every 
one  else  did,  but  carefully  and  accurately  calculated  the  interest 
up  to  the  day,  and  added  the  interest  to  the  amount  of  the 
notes."  And  this  was  to  him  but  the  everyday  working  of  a 
conscience  which  was  part  and  parcel  of  himself. 


12 


AS  A  PEACEMAKER. 

But  it  deserves  to  be  said  of  our  dear  brother  that  he  ex- 
erted a  fine  influence  everywhere  as  a  peace-maker,  not  only 
in  a  direct,  but  also,  on  occasion,  in  an  indirect  way.  One  of 
his  ministerial  brethren  who  feels  most  acutely  the  loss  which 
has  fallen  upon  the  church  and  upon  individuals  as  well, 
gives  this  testimony :  "Most  sensibly  shall  I  feel  the  loss  of 
him  in  our  Annual  Conference,  where  his  influence  upon  me 
was  so  wholesome  and  so  potent.  It  is  my  failing  to  be  ex- 
citable and  hasty  in  speech,  and  to  utter  things  which  should 
be  left  unsaid.  He  was  always  calm,  always  cool,  always 
self-possessed,  and  when  he  saw  that  I  was  about  to  act  rashly 
he  would  come  to  me  and  hold  me  in  restraint.  How  sadly 
now  shall  I  miss  his  influence  at  such  times." 

HOW  HE  LOVED  AND  FOLLOW^ED  THE  MASTER. 

And,  dearly  beloved,  such  things  are  but  the  true  belong- 
ings of  one  who  had  imbibed  so  deeply  of  the  spirit  of 
his  divine  Master,  and  who  bore  about  with  him  every- 
where in  more  than  a  merely  metaphorical  way,  "the  marks 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  and  "the  mind  that  was  in  Christ." 
His  spiritual  adornments  were  such  as  will  be  worn  in  the 
great  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb,  whither  he  has  gone. 

In  tracing  the  habitual  closeness  with  which  he  imitated  the 
great  Exemplar  of  mankind,  one  is  reminded  of  the  saying  of 
one  of  the  more  distinguished  pilgrims  in  the  immortal 
Allegory: 

"I  have  loved  to  hear  my  Lord  spoken  of;  and,  wherever  I 
have  seen  the  print  of  his  shoe  in  the  earth,  there  I  have 
coveted  to  set  my  foot  too.  His  name  has  been  to  me  as  a 
civet-box;  yea,  sweeter  than  all  perfumes.  His  voice  to  me 
has  been  most  sweet;  and  his  countenance  I  have  more  de- 
sired than  they  that  have  most  desired  the  light  of  the  sun. 

•  •  He  has  held  me,  and  I  have  kept  me  from  mine 
iniquities;  yea,  my  steps  hath  he  strengthened  in  the  way." 


13 


THE  STRAIGHT  EDGE 

It  may  seem  extravagant,  but  I  think  it  is  not,  when  I  ex- 
press the  conviction  that  if  the  straight  edge  of  the  moral  law, 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  Jesus  and  his  apostles,  were  laid 
along  side  the  life  of  our  dearly  loved  and  lamented  brother, 
the  disparity  would  be  as  slight  as  in  a  similar  test  applied  to 
any  human  character — not  of  modern  times,  but  of  any  time. 

While  as  a  preacher  he  was  full,  clear,  evangelical,  faithful, 
effective,  declaring  all  the  counsel  of  God,  and  enforcing  the 
observance  of  every  duty,  leaving  out  nothing  within  the 
scope  of  christian  obedience,  he  abounded  in  the  related  ex- 
ercises of  prayer  and  praise,  and  emphasised  with  wonderful 
zeal  and  spirit  the  devotional  services  of  God's  sanctuary. 

The  most  precious  memories  which  many  have  treasured  up 
of  our  dear  brother  are,  no  doubt,  in  connection  with  the  ser- 
vices of  praise  and  prayer  which  he  led  with  so  much  spirit. 

THEY  WILL  REMEMBER. 

And  his  brethren  of  the  Annual  Conference,  who  will  see 
his  face  no  more  among  them,  while  they  remember  how  val- 
uable he  was  to  the  deliberations  of  the  body,  how  watchful, 
how  attentive,  how  genial,  how  impartial,  how  intent  on  find- 
ing the  best  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  greatest 
good,  will  not  forget  how  prompt  he  was  to  be  present  at  the 
devotional  exercises  of  the  morning  session,  no  matter  how 
far  were  his  lodgings  from  the  seat  of  the  Conference,  nor  how 
difficult  the  way  over  which  he  had  to  come.  What  an  ex- 
ample for  others,  who  in  like  instances  have  been  careless  and 
wanting.  These  are  some  of  the  very  many  things  by  which 
our  brother  will  be  long  remembered,  and  which  should  ad- 
monish us  for  good. 

SEALS  AND  CROWNS- 

The  preaching  of  Bro.  Wills,  faithful  and  full  of  evangelical 
truth  as  it  was,  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 


14 


consecration  and  re-inforced  with  the  power  of  all  prayer  and 
-supplication  in  the  Spirit,  would  naturally  be  instrumental  in 
bringing  many  souls  into  the  kingdom ;  and  there  were  many 
seals  to  his  ministry  which  shall  deck  his  crown  with  never- 
fading  stars  in  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  In  the  abundance  of  his  labors  he  was  scarcely 
equaled  by  any  man  of  his  time,  and  if  we  take  into  the  ac- 
count the  comparative  frailty  of  his  physical  organism  and 
the  thoroughness  with  which  he  did  his  work,  his  achieve- 
ment is  a  marvel. 

INSCRUTABLE  PROVIDENCE. 

The  Providence  by  which  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church 
is  at  this  time  bereaved  of  a  ministerial  brother  whose  place 
cannot  in  all  things  be  filled,  is  inscrutable  to  us ;  but  it  is  the 
Lord's  work,  and  to  Him  we  must  submit.  To  Him  it  may 
have  appeared  that  our  brother  had  finished  the  work  of  his 
life.  He  had  made  full  proof  of  his  ministry.  He  had  fully 
set  his  house  in  order,  in  that  higher  sense  of  which  Abraham 
was  a  conspicuous  example,  "  commanding  his  children  and 
his  household  after  him,  that  the}^  should  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord,"  thus  rounding  out  his  life  as  completely  as  if  he  had 
filled  his  four-score  years. 

But  there  is  another  thought  which  suggests  itself,  and 
which  may  be  worth  considering,  as  an  answer  to  the  inquiry, 
''why  was  our  brother,  at  such  a  time,  when  his  presence 
seemed  so  necessary  to  the  interests  of  his  family  and  the 
church,  with  no  one  to  fill  his  place,  taken  away  from  us?" 

This  is  ofi'ered  as  a  solution :  Among  the  many  exclamations 
of  loved  ones  concerning  our  bi'other  when  he  had  breathed 
his  last,  was  this  :  "  O,  he  has  gone  to  be  with  that  Jesus  he 
loved  so  much  !  How  many  times  has  he  said  that  he  had 
such  a  yearning  to  see  the  face  of  Jesus."  And  who  can  say, 
dear  friends,  but  that  Jesus  accepted  that  longing  desire  as  a 
prayer,  and  when  it  had  been  repeated  a  great  number  of 
times,  at  last,  when  our  brother  had  grown  weary  in  the  bur- 


15 


den  and  heat  of  the  day,  Jesus  called  hirn  that  he  might  come 
up  and  see  his  face  with  joy.  And  who  can  say  that  this  is 
not  true  ? 

GREETINGS  IN  HEAVEN. 

The  thought  was  expressed,  a  short  time  after  the  death  of 
the  deceased,  by  one  who  was  nearest  to  him  of  all  others, 
and  who  of  all  others  best  knew  how  ripe  he  was  for  that 
world,  and  how  tenderly  he  cherished  the  hope  of  meeting 
loved  ones  there,  that  "by  this  time  he  has  seen  his  fath- 
er who  went  to  heaven  before  him,  and  his  brother  and  his 
sister,  and  my  father  and  my  two  brothers;  by  this  time  he 
has  seen  and  recognized  all  in  the  dear  home  to  which  he  has 
gone."  O  blessed  anticipation  which  cheers  the  hearts  of  the 
friends  of  Jesus,  who,  as  parts  of  a  family  whose  final  home 
is  in  the  Jerusalem  above,  go  one  by  one  through  the  fiiding 
years  to  find  again  and  reclaim  forever  the  loved  and  the  lost. 
And  this,  0  ye  seekers  of  that  blessed  Elysian,  is  what  is 
meant  by  the  "Gathering  Home." 

IN  CONCLUSION. 

Conscious  of  the  necessary  imperfection  of  this  sketch,  by 
reason  of  the  narrowness  of  the  space  permitted  and  the  dif- 
ficulties which  always  attend  the  performance  of  a  task  so 
many  sided  and  so  delicate,  it  only  remains  that  we  bid  an 
afiectionate  adieu  to  our  loving  and  beloved  Brother,  praying 
heavenly  blessings  on  those  who  most  keenly  feel  his  loss, 
and  expressing  the  desire  that  our  end  be  like  his,  the  begin- 
ning of  Life  Eternal  with  the  Redeemer  and  His  Saints  in  the 
Home  Everlasting.  Amen. 


APPENDIX. 


[From  Rev.  T.  J.  Ogburn.] 

Henderson,  N.  C,  Nov.  20th,  1891. 

I  am  not  worthy  or  competent  to  write  in  this  connection,  of  my 
dear  Brother,  the  .Rev.  R.  H.  Wills.  But  as  love  may  intrude  where 
even  merit  may  not,  I  venture  to  lay  this  simple  flower  upon  his  grave 

It  will  always  be  an  inspiration  to  me  to  know  that  he  w^as  my 
friend.    I  loved  him  more  than  I  did  any  other  man.    Coming  upon 
my  young  life  at  its  most  impressible  stage,  gaining  my  full  confidence, 
opening  his  pulpit  to  me  in  my  sixteenth  year,  encouraging  my  w^eak 
efforts,  kindly  correcting  some  of  my  many  faults  and  helping  me  over 
the  rough  places,  he  gave  impulse  and  direction  to  all  my  future 
course  and  influenced  me  more  than  has  any  other  human  instrumen- 
tality excepting  my  dear  Christian  mother.    To  me  he  w^as  the  ideal 
Christian  gentleman.    His  life  was  an  exemplification  of  practical 
Christianity.    As  to  any  immorality,  he  was  above  all  suspicion.  The 
law  of  love  was  the  rule  of  his  life.    Honesty,  truth,  purity,  all  the 
Christian  graces,  shone  out  in  all  his  conduct  and  conversation.  True" 
to  every  trust,  faithful  to  his  convictions,  fearless  in  the  defense  of  the; 
right,  a  friend  to  all  good,  a  foe  to  all  evil,  you  "always  knew  where 
to  find  him."  "Steadfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord,"  his  constancy  and  consistency  were  such  that  those  who 
knew  him  best  loved  him  most.    The  crowning  glory  of  his  character; 
was  his  intense,  abiding  and  all-inspiring  love  for  Christ.    Christ  was 
all  in  all  to  him.    He  loved  to  preach  Christ  and  did  preach  Him  in- 
every  sermon.   How  radiant  his  face  and  how  thrilling  his  voice  ag. 
he  would  preach  Christ  I    He  loved  to  hear  Christ  preached.    I  think- 
he  was  the  best  hearer  I  ever  had.   He  talked  of  Christ,  day  and' 
night;  always  and  every  where  he  wanted  to  talk  about  Him.  His  high- 
est, his  only  ambition  was  to  be  like  Jesus.  His  heart's  con^ant  yearn- 
ing was  to  be  consecrated,  sanctified,  ivholly  devoted  to  Christ.  Without  I 
professing  sanctification  he  lived  and  was  the  most  devoted  Christian  * 
I  think  I  ever  knew.    Often  he  would  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  coming  '| 
glory,  and  then  with  rapturous  shouts  he  would  praise  the  Lord.  Now  * 
he  is  "forever  with  the  Lord."   He  behold^s  His  face  in  rigeteousness 
and  is  satisfied.    Earth  is  poorer  for  his  absence.  Heaven  is  richer  for 
his  presence.    We  miss  him  here,  but  hope  to  greet  him  there,  "some-, 
sweet  day."    May  grace  sustain  and  comfort  his  bereaved  loved  ones 
and  us  w^ho  mourn  with  them.    And  may  his  mantle  fall  on  the  Con- 
ference so  painfully  aflSicted  in  his  death. 


17 


[From  Rev.  W.  F.  KennetL] 

Kernersville,  N,  C,  Nov.  16th,  1891. 
Rev.  R.  H.  Wills,  as  I  saw  him,  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  chris- 
tian characters  I  have  ever  known.  I  knew  him  first  as  my  pastor, 
and  he  was  a  faithful  shepherd  of  the  flock.  When  I  joined  Confer- 
ence he  was  President.  His  official  visits  to  my  circuit,  (Buncombe) 
were  an  inspiration  to  the  boy  pastor.  His  words  of  counsel,  his 
manifest  interest  in  my  success,  still  linger  in  my  mind  and  heart. 
He  was,  to  me,  a  father  in  Israel— a  spiritual  benefactor.  I  loved  him  as 
I  have  loved  but  few  men.  I  loved  to  honor  him  while  he  was  yet 
with  us.  I  mourn  his  loss  almost  as  I  would  that  of  my  own  father. 
I  thank  God  for  his  beautiful  consecrated  life.  I  pray  God  to  help  me 
follow  him  as  he  follow^ed  Christ. 


I  From  Dr.  Ferree."] 

Worth VILLE.  N.  C,  Nov.  20th,  1891. 

I  regard  the  late  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills  as  one  of  the  very  best  men  I  ev- 
er met,  and  I  feel  confident  that  his  place  in  the  North  Carolina  An- 
nual Conference  M.  P.  Church  will  be  hard  to  fill. 


[From  J.  M.  Cutchin."] 

Whitakers,  N.  C,  Nov.  23rd,  1891. 
Bro.  Wills  loved  Tar  River  Circuit,  on  which  he  began  his  itinerant 
life  in  1858,  and  Tar  River  never  thought  more  of  a  preacher  than  it 
did  of  him. 

As  for  myself,  I  will  say,  I  believe  he  was  the  best  man  lever  knew. 


[From  John  C.  Roberts.'] 

Kernersville,  N,  C,  Nov.  18,  1891. 
More  than  thirty  years  ago  I  became  acquainted  with  bro.  Wills. 
Though  I  was  never  under  his  immediate  pastoral  charge,  yet  I  have 
heard  him  preach  often  ;  have  been  with  him  much  at  the  fireside, 
in  bodies  of  deliberation,  and  on  several  long  journeys.  I  have  thus 
had  good  opportunity  to  study  and  learn  him  in  all  his  parts.  I  feel 
warranted  in  saying  I  have  never  known  among  men  a  better  charac- 
ter than  his.  He  was  well  equipped  in  mind,  in  heart,  in  energy  and 
deportment  for  his  high  calling.  He  was  all  things,  innocent,  to  all 
men.  He  was  a  faithful  and  conscientious  exemplifier  of  the  gospel 
he  so  earnestly  and  ably  preached.   Be  it  said  to  his  imperishable 


18 

honor,  that  the  sharp  criticisms  he  had  sometimes  to  endure  resulted 
only  from  the  courage  of  his  convictions:  He  could  suffer — he  could 
not  violate  his  conscience. 

To  the  writer  he  seemed  ripe,  long  ago,  for  a  change  to  a  higher  life; 
but,  it  may  be  presumed,  God  detained  him  here  to  complete  a  goodly- 
heritage  for  his  family  and  his  church.  Thank  God  for  such  a  man — 
for  such  a  life!  Death  cannot  sever  him  from  us.  There  is  a  chain 
that  binds  us  to  him — the  chain  of  everlasting  love — and  this  love  the 
Spirit's  earnest  of  everlasting  life.  "He  that  believeth  in  me,  though 
he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live  ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth 
in  me  shall  never  die." 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  QUARTERLY  CONFERENCE  OF  HAW  RIVER  CIRCUIT. 

"Whereas,  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  remove  from  our  midst 
our  much  beloved  brother.  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills.  And 

"Whereas,  we  acknowledge!  the  hand  of  God  in  all  things,  and  that 
He  doeth  all  things  for  His  glory  and  our  eternal  good — 

Is/.-  Resolved,  That  by  his  death  our  Church  has  lost  a  faithful  and 
consistent  member  and  the  Haw  River  Circuit  a  faithful  minister, 
and  that  we  bow  in  humble  submission  to  the  Divine  will,  remember- 
ing that  he  was  a  faithful  preacher  of  the  gospel. 

2nd:  Resolved,  That  we  will  ever  cherish  his  memory,  and  trust  that 
his  sad  and  untimely  death  will  lead  many  to  the  cross,  and  be  the 
means  of  making  us  all  purer  and  better. 

3rcZ;  Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  heartfelt  sympathy  to  the  devoted! 
widow  and  many  relatives,  and  pray  that  this  dispensation  of  God's  ^ 
providence  may  be  sanctified  to  their  good,  and  they  may  realize  that, 
he  cannot  return  to  them,  but  that  they  may  go  to  him. 

Ath:  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the] 
Journal  of  the  Quarlerly  Conference  of  Haw  River  Circuit;  that  a  copy! 
be  sent  to  the  Methodist  Protestant,  Daily  Workman  and  Webster's  Weekly  A 
with  a  request  to  be  published,  and  that  a  copy  be  furnished  the] 
widow  of  the  deceased. 

J.  F.  Dixon, 

"W.  0.  SWAIM, 
J.  H.  HUTCHERSON. 


resolutions  of  HALIFAX  CIRCUIT  QUARTERLY  CONFERENCE. 

We,  your  committee,  appointed  by  the  quarterly  conference  of  Hali- 
fax Circuit,  in  session  on  this  the  13th  day  of  November,  1891,  cheer-  ' 
fully  comply  with  your  request  in  offering  this  tribute  to  the  memory  / 


I 


19 


of  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills:  our  former  pastor,  companion,  friend  and  faith- 
ful minister  in  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  whose 
life  so  forcibly  declared  that  his  one  desire  was  to  know  Christ  and 
him  crucified,  and  through  all  the  trials  and  conflicts  of  life  could  say 
with  the  illustrious  Paul,  "But  none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither 
count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course 
with  joy,  and  the  ministry,  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God." 

Besolved,  That  our  hearts  are  sad  because  we  shall  see  his  face  no 
more  in  the  flesh. 

That  our  church  and  the  cause  of  Christ  sustain  a  loss  which  can 
only  be  supplied  by  the  wisdom  of  Him  who  worketh  all  things  ac- 
cording to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will;  and  we  pray  Him  that  he  will 
raise  up  that  help  which  shall  more  than  fill  the  broken  ranks. 

Resolved,  That  we  sorrow  not  as  those  who  have  no  hope,  being  con- 
fident that  our  loss  is  his  eternal  gain,  and  that  he  has  gone  to  that 
city  which  hath  foundations ;  where  with  others  of  our  loved  and 
revered  ones  he  is  watching  and  waiting  on  the  other  shore  for  each 
one  of  us  and  for  all  those  to  whom  he  so  faithfully  and  lovingly  de- 
clared the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  One  of  his 
recent  sermons  preached  at  Bethesda  is  now  fresh  in  our  memory,  in 
which  he  so  forcibly  and  affectionately  portrayed  to  us  the  truths  in 
the  text ;  "But  he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  His 
life  and  death  bear  evident  testimony  to  its  truth.  In  this,  his  native 
county,  witnesses  are  not  wanting  among  the  rich  and  poor,  white  and 
colored,  to  rise  up  call  him  blessed,  and  to  testify  to  his  consecrated 
youth  while  at  school  and  in  his  early  ministry ;  no  more  attentive, 
affectionate  and  dutiful  son,  brother  and  companion  could  be  found  in 
all  the  land. 

Resolved,  That  his  departure  leaves  the  world  poorer,  enriches 
heaven,  and  brightens  our  hopes  and  prospects  for  the  better  life. 

We  bow  in  submission  to  the  will  of  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well. 
"  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 

Rev.  W.  T.  Totten, 
Hardy  Pitts, 
J.  E.  Hunter, 

Committee. 

Brinkleyville,  N.  C,  Nov.  16,  189L 


20 


IFrom  Rev.  D.  A.  Highfill.'] 

In  a  well  written  letter  of  tribute,  from  Rev.  D.  A.  Highfill,  dated 
Nov.  12th,  are  found  the  following  points  of  interest :  "  Rev.  R.  H. 
Wills  conducted  a  protracted  meeting  at  Flat  Rock  in  the  year  1865, 
in  which  at  its  close,  it  was  reported  that  there  had  been  no  converts ; 
but  one,  the  writer  of  this  tribute,  was  among  the  seekers,  had  passed 
through  a  change  during  the  meeting  which  turned  the  whole  course 
of  his  life.  Under  the  change  then  and  there  wrought  he  entered  the 
gospel  ministry,  and  has  labored  therein  for  twenty  years,  during 
which  time  numbers  have  been  converted  and  five  or  six  young  men 
influenced  to  enter  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church. 
His  public  prayers  seemed  to  be  those  of  a  person  in  close  communion 
with  God.  He  was  a  close  student  of  the  Bible,  and  evidenced  a 
remarkable  familiarity  with  its  contents.  He  was  a  faithful  preacher 
of  the  gospel.  His  sermons  were  plain,  pointed  and  practical,  and 
sometimes  eloquent,  but  never  sensational.  He  declared  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  depending  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bless  the  truth  and 
give  it  success. 

"  The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  in  North  Carolina  has  lost  one 
of  her  ablest  ministers.  I  never  heard  him  preach  a  poor  sermon. 
He  always  preached  well. 

"He  unswervingly  served  the  Church  in  every  position  that  demand- 
ed his  labors — as  president  of  the  Conference,  representative  in  the 
General  Conference,  pastor  of  circuits,  however  weak  and  unpromis- 
ing— in  every  position  he  performed  cheerfully  the  labors  assigned 
him.  I  believe  he  loved  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  sincerely 
and  devotedly. 

"In  a  word,  he  was  a  faithful,  practical,  earnest,  conscientious,  conse- 
crated, devoted  minister  of  God's  word. 

"O  that  his  mantle  may  early  fall  upon  some  worthy  young  man 
His  work  here  is  done.  He  will  go  in  and  out  among  us  no  more ! 
How  sad  the  thought !  How  much  we  will  miss  him  in  our  Conference 
deliberations  and  work ! 

"Farewell,  dear  brother.  We  hope  to  meet  you  again  on  the  ever-: 
green  shore,  where  parting  will  be  unknown  forever.  Amen." 


{From  Rev.  S.  W.  Coe.] 

RuTHSBURG,  Md.,  November  25th,  1891. 
1  have  known  our  dear  Brother  Wills  since  my  boyhood.   I  have' 
seen  him  in  every  relation  in  life  and  have  studied  his  character 
from  every  point  of  view.    I  first  heard  him  preach  during  his  first 


21 


tenn  as'President.  As  a  preacher  he  was  able,  always  orthordox  and 
thoroughly  reliable,  and  as  a  moral  philosopher  he  perhaps  had  no 
equal  in  the  Conference.  I  had,  years  ago,  set  him  down  as  one  of  the 
noblest  specimens  of  a  Christian  and  a  Christian  Minister.  He  was  a 
man  of  prayer,  and  it  may  be  said  "he  walked  with  God."  ?Iis  loy- 
alty to  the  M.  P.  Church  was  never  surpassed. 

He  was  the  embodiment  of  all  that  is  true  and  noble  in  the  highest 
type  of  Christian  manhood.  He  will  be  greatly  missed ;  may  his  man- 
tle fall  upon  another.  His  death  has  brought  sadness  to  our  home. 
One  of  God's  noblemen  has  been  called  from  toil  and  labor  to  his  re- 
ward. I  am  glad  to  be  permitted  to  pay  this  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  this  true  and  tried  man  of  God  and  my  own  personal  friend  for 
many  years.    We  expect  to  meet  him  again. 


IFrom  the  Daily  Workman.l 
FUNERAL  OF  REV.  R.   H.  WILLS. 

Funeral  services  over  the  remains  of  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills,  of  the 
Methodist  Protesfant  Church,  who  died  on  Thursday  last,  at  3:15  p.  m., 
were  held  this  morning  at  11  o'clock  from  his  late  residence  on  Keogh 
street. 

There  was  an  appreciative  representation  present  from  the  churches 
of  the  city,  and  from  Oak  Ridge,  Fairview,  Moriah  and  Tabernacle.  A 
solemn  and  tearful  interest  was  plainly  manifest,  and  tokens  of  love, 
sympathy  and  respect  were  abundant. 

Rev.  T.  J.  Ogburn,  of  Henderson,  came  up  on  the  early  morning 
train  to  see  the  face  of  his  beloved  friend,  but  was  obliged  to  return 
East  on  the  tirst  train  to  meet  his  Sabbath  appointment,  so  that  he 
could  not  be  present  at  the  funeral. 


MEMORIAL  SERVICES 


Held  at  Conference,  Sunday,  Dec.  6th,  1891. 


Memorial  services  began  at  2:30  o'clock  p.  m.,  Sunday,  December  6, 
1891.  The  choir  sang  hymn  189,  "The  Cleansing  Fountain."  Rev,  W. 
A.  Bunch  read  23rd  Psalm.  Choir  sang  hymn  472  with  chorus,  "Rock 
of  Ages  Cleft  for  Me."  Prayer  by  Rev.  Benjamin  Stout.  The  memorial 
address  prepared  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Michaux  was  read  by  Bro.  W.  A. 
Bunch. 

Rev.  W.  C.  Kennett  said:  "This  death  comes  nearer  my  heart 
than  that  of  any  other  outside  of  my  family.  I  first  met  Bro.  Wills 
thirty-one  years  ago ;  since  then  the  relationship  between  us  has  ever 
been  firm  and  close  ;  I  loved  him  deeply  and  truly.  On  the  day  our 
daughter  died  he  had  an  appointment  at  our  church.  He  came  to  our 
home  that  day,  preached  her  funeral,  and  remained  with  us  two  or 
three  days.  He  was  rich  in  sympathy  He  spoke  to  me  in  the  hour 
of  his  bereavement,  when  his  brother  died,  expressing  his  loss  and 
grief,  but  at  length  exclaiming:  *If  it  takes  afflictions  to  make  me 
better  let  them  come.'  He  was  at  the  side  of  my  wife's  death-bed 
and  offered  prayer  for  us.  He  embraced  me  and  said :  'Thank  God 
for  a  religion  that  saves  in  death,  thus  tenderly  expressing  his  sym- 
pathy in  this  sad  hour." 

Rev.  G.  E.  Hunt  said  :  "I  am  unworthy  to  speak  of  one  so  good, 
so  noble.  I  first  met  Bro.  Wills  thirty  years  ago.  He  was  then  one 
of  my  best  friends,  and  I  feel  that  I  have  lost  that  friend.  May  we 
in  this  hour  of  berevement  consecrate  ourselves  anew  to  the  Master." 

Rev.  C.  A.  Pickens  said:  "  In  the  year  of  1860  at  the  annual  Con- 
ference six  or  seven  kneeled  to  receive  the  order  of  Deaconship.  Bro . 
Wills  and  myself  were  of  that  number.  While  there  kneeling  I  per- 
ceived that  Bro.  Wills  wept,  and  doubtless  he  there  re-consecrated 
himself  to  God's  service.  I  am  the  only  one  of  that  number  left.  It 
makes  me  feel  that  I,  too,  must  soon  follow.  I  saw  him  a  short  while 
before  he  died.  We  talked  long  together.  Soon  after  this  I  received 
a  letter  from  my  son  saying :  *  Pa,  how  sad  it  is ;  Bro.  Wills  is  dead ; 
we  need  him  so  much.'  I  dropped  the  letter,  and  with  bowed  head 
asked  God  to  prepare  me  to  meet  him  in  a  better  world." 

Rev.  C.  L.  Whitaker  said :  "  I  owe  my  being  in  the  ministry  to-day 
more  to  the  influence  of  Bro.  Wills  than  to  any  thing  else.  Having 


23 


lost  my  father  when  I  was  an  infant  he  always  seemed  as  a  father 
to  me." 

Rev.  R.  R.  Hanner  said :  "  I  can  not  let  this  service  pass  without 
expressing  my  love  and  affection  for  Bro.  Wills.  I  first  met  him  in 
time  of  war.  Fell  in  company  with  him  on  the  train  going  to  Con- 
ference. At  Salisbury  a  young  man  under  the  influence  of  alcohol 
■  came  into  the  train  and  was  swearing.  Bro.  Wills  said  :  'Young  man, 
have  you  not  a  mother  ?  for  the  sake  of  your  mother  and  these  minis- 
tei-s  do  not  take  my  Master's  name  in  vain.'  " 

Rev.  W.  W.  Amick  said :  "  I  distinctly  remember  the  incident 
related  by  Bro.  Hanner,  as  I  was  one  of  the  number  present  at  the 
time  of  its  occurrence.  Bro.  Wills  was  a  noble  man.  It  is  seldom 
that  my  feelings  are  so  wrought  upon  that  I  can  not  speak,  but  my 
heart  at  this  hour  is  too  full  for  utterance." 

Bro.  Joseph  Baswell  said  :  "  It  was  mv  privilege  when  a  mere  lad 
to  know  Bro.  Wills.  My  mother  was  converted  under  his  ministry, 
as  were  a  number  of  my  friends." 

Rev.  F.  T.  Tagg  said:  "I  have  not  been  acquainted  with  Bro. 
Wills  as  long  as  many  of  you  in  this  Conference.  I  first  met  him  eight 
years  ago  at  the  General  Conference  at  Baltimore.  I  almost  instantly 
recognized  in  him  the  elements  of  a  high-toned  Christian  gentleman. 
He  possessed,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  elements  of  '  Suaviter  in 
modo  and  fortiter  in  re,'  which  went  to  make  up  Chesterfield's  ideal 
gentleman.  He  was  a  man  of  great  suavity  and  gentleness  of  man- 
ners, but  equal  firmness  and  decision  of  character.  Consecrated  to 
God,  loyal  to  the  church,  faithful  to  his  duties,  he  stood  almost  with- 
out a  peer  in  his  Conference.  There  is  scarcely  a  man  in  this  Confer- 
ence who  has  missed  him  more  than  I.  Between  us  there  is  an 
unfinif^hed  correspondence.  The  correspondence  was  of  the  most 
friendly  and  delightful  character,  but  by  mutual  agreement  it  was  left 
incomplete  to  be  finished  at  this  Conference.  There  is  a  weird  and 
beautiful  song  called  "  The  Lost  Chord."  It  represents  a  lady  at  the 
instrument  carelessly  striking  chords  until  suddenly  she  strikes  a  chord 
80  strangely  new  and  sweet,  so  different  from  anything  she  ever  heard 
before  that  she  repeatedly  attempts  to  produce  it  again,  but  without 
success.  The  song  closes  with  the  interrogation,  "Will  that  lost  chord 
be  found  in  heaven  ?"  In  coming  here  from  the  far  South  the  inquiry 
has  frequently  crossed  my  mind:  Will  we  complete  that  interrupted 
correspondence  after  awhile ;  will  the  lost  chord  be  found  in  heaven  ? 
It  can  not  be  found  here.  There  is  another  thought  that  has  interested 
me.  There  is  that  in  families  which  we  call  peculiarities.  Physicians 
call  it  family  idiosyncrasies,  scientists  call  it  the  eff'ect  of  heredity.  It 
is  that  by  which  peculiarities  are  transmitted  from  one  generation  to 


/ 


24 

another.  This  appears  in  a  marked  degree  in  the  family  of  Bro. 
Wills.  The  characteristics  that  made  him  a  grand  and  noble  charac- 
ter were  seen  in  his  father  and  they  re-appeared  in  his  children,  one 
of  whom  is  now  studying  for  the  ministry.  What  an  incentive  to 
practice  a  pure  and  upright  life  when  the  elements  of  such  a  life 
may  be  transmitted  to  on-coming  generations.  May  the  son  be  like 
the  father  in  probity,  honor,  fidelity  to  God  and  loyalty  to  the 
church.  It  seems  to  me  Bro.  Wills  has  left  a  vacancy  that  will  be 
difficult  to  fill.  The  simplicity  of  his  character,  the  sincerity  of  his 
friendship,  the  unselfishness  of  all  his  motives,  the  fervency  of  his 
spirit,  the  faithfulness  of  his  life,  will  make  a  vacancy  in  this  Confer- 
ence that  will  long  remam.  Let  us  so  live  that  we  who  are  here  may 
join  him  in  the  upper  kingdom,  and  all  that  love  him  d  well  with  him 
forever  with  the  Lord." 

Bro.  Stout  said  :  "It  is  a  sorrowful  thing  to  die.  How  our  hearts 
are  filled  with  sorrow  to  look  upon  the  form  of  a  little  child  laid  in 
the  coffin,  its  little  hands  folded  over  its  lifeless  breast  the  touch  of  its 
cold  marble  brow  gives  us  a  pang  of  sorrow,  and  as  we  stand  in  the 
valley  and  hear  the  sound  of  the  clods  as  they  fall  together  to  hide  the 
dear  form  from  us  forever  in  this  world  our  sorrow  is  great— but  how 
much  greater  our  sorrow  when  one  that  has  been  endeared  to  us  in 
life  of  self-sacrifice  and  toil  which  embodied  the  noble  traits  of  a  pur 
life  lies  cold  in  death  before  us.  Dear  breathren,  I  am  grateful  that 
am  permitted  humbly  to  present  one  fiower  to  be  placed  in  the  tribut 
of  praise  that  shall  encircle  the  memory  of  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills  forev 
I  met  him  first  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  in  May,  1877.  as  a  member 
the  convention  of  the  M.  P.  Church.  He  was  chosen  assistant  secrets 
ry  of  tl.e  convention.  I  admired  his  calmness  and  faithfulness  in  th 
duties  of  his  office.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  near  mid-night  (Sun 
day)  on  the  street  in  Winston,  N.  C.  I  heard  him  preach  that  nig 
in  the  Centenary  M.  E.  Church  an  earnest  sermon  from  Romans  xi 
chap.,  2d  verse  :  'And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world  :  but  be  ye  tran 
formed  by  the  renewing  of  your  minds,  that  ye  may  prove  what 
that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God.'  As  we  were  abou 
to  part  Bro.  Wills  in  a  tender  manner  expressed  his  deep  interest  i 
the  cause  of  Home  Missions,  and  that  brotherly  sympathy  for  me  i 
all  my  journeys  and  labors  that  made  me  glad.  We  parted  in  th^ 
darkness  of  the  night  to  meet  no  more  here  below,  but  we  will  mee^: 
him  again— till  then  we  will  rejoice  in  the  grace  of  God  that  wilh 
bring  us  home  to  sorrow  and  die  no  more,  amen." 

Rev.  W.  A,  Bunch  said :    "  Bro.  Wills  in  his  last  correspondenofr 
with  me  was  shown  to  me  as  never  before." 
The  service  closed  with  praver  by  Rev.  F.  T.  Tagg. 


Date  Due 


/ 


975.61    NS73  P    v. 12  27024 


